


The Boy General

by artikulohno



Category: Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral (2018)
Genre: Gen, Philippine history, Philippine-American War, Time Travel, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-14 06:54:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16035263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artikulohno/pseuds/artikulohno
Summary: i kind of got inspired by that scene in 'harry potter and the cursed child' where albus and scorpius try to save cedric. and, well, i kinda got a huge heart for ya boy general del pilar, so here you go!





	The Boy General

Two things were swimming through Jenna's head during History class. 

First, she learned that she could time travel. And second, General Gregorio Del Pilar died too young. Those two things don't seem connected, but trust me, they will be. 

"You want to go to a battle of the war?" Josh asked, confused by his friend's sudden decision. 

Jenna nods. Josh asks, "Which one?" 

"The one we just discussed, Tirad Pass." 

"Why though?" 

 Jenna shrugs. "That guy, Gregorio Del Pilar, he died too young. Why not save him?" 

"I guess you're right." Josh says unsurely, but he agrees with Jenna. And in what looks and feels like a snap of fingers, Jenna was gone. Time travel was fast and turbulent. And you often fall to the ground when you land in wherever or  _whenever_ you go. 

Jenna wondered what she would do to succeed in her mission. How would she save him? Would she make sure he got sick so he wouldn't have to fight? Would she just try to convince him not to go? Probably the latter. Most definitely the latter. 

So there Jenna landed, the night before the battle of Tirad Pass. He wasn't that hard to find. She easily saw him. He easily saw her. She stared at him. She's here. She's really here. He's really there. She's going to save him. 

"May maitutulong ba ako sa iyo, binibini?" The general asked, most probably confused by Jenna's stare. 

"How-" Jenna was about to ask how old he was. She stopped herself. She can't speak English. Not in this time. 

"Ilang taon na po kayo?" 

He smiles at her polite 'po.' He lets out a small laugh. 

"Huwag gamitin ang 'po' kapag nakikipag-usap sa akin. Ako ay binata pa lamang. Heneral o Goyo ang itawag mo sa akin." 

He paused. "Dalawam'put apat." 

Jenna nods. 

"Kakaiba naman ang iyong damit." he points out. 

"Ah..." Jenna looks down to what she's wearing. A t-shirt and jeans. It must look incredibly strange to him. 

He offers her a small smile and is about to walk away. Jenna stops him. 

"Heneral." 

He turns to look at her. 

"May kailangan akong sabihin sa iyo." 

Jenna panics. What does she say now? How will she convince him? Should she tell him the truth? No, she can't. 

"Natatakot ako, Heneral." 

He looks at her concernedly. "Natatakot? Bakit?" 

Her panic quickly grows deeper. 

"Mahal kita ngunit natatakot ako na mamamatay ka." She blurts out. Immediately, she blushes furiously. Why would she say that? That's not true, it doesn't even make sense! She said it out of panic. What a dumb choice. 

"Walang higit na sakripisyo kaysa sa mamatay para sa iyong bayan." 

Jenna is about to give up. She doesn't think it's going to work. Until he says- 

"Ngunit," he pauses, "bukas ay hindi magiging huling pagkakataon para lumaban." 

"Hindi ka makikipaglaban bukas?" Jenna asks. 

"Hindi na." He confirms. 

He smiles, walks away and Jenna is gone in a snap of fingers. She travels back to 2018. 

Or rather, she  _wishes_ she could go back to the _real_ 2018.

Jenna was always interested in the war but she never wished to be in one. When she gets back to her time, everything's different. The Philippines is in war. She ends up back in her school but it doesn't seem to be a school anymore. It seems to be a refuge center. 

She sees Josh. 

"Josh! What happened?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"There's war! It wasn't like this when I left!" 

Josh gives her a worried look. "What are you talking about? Our country's been in war since we were born." 

Jenna frantically prepares to go back in time again. 

'It's okay. I can fix this.' 

She goes back to that night, the night before the battle. 

Time to go with the former. 

"Gusto mo ba ng inumin, Heneral?" Jenna offers him a drink. But it's no ordinary drink, it's been tampered with. It'll definitely make him sick. Or at least that's what the research she did before coming here said. 

"Salamat, binibini." he smiles, taking the drink. 

Jenna quickly walks away. And waits until the morning for the results. 

The next morning, she lays her eyes on the sick general. He won't be able to fight, but she hears his soldiers would be fighting for him. 

Success. 

She goes back to 2018. Back to the school. She knows it'll be a school when she gets back. It'll all go back to normal and even better, she was able to save a young man who was far too young to die. 

Why does she want to save him? It's because she feels immense sympathy, if you will. She learned about him in the history books and the history lecture. And she always thought that young people, such as herself with their lives ahead of them, don't deserve to die before anything happens. She felt that and decided to save him. 

She comes back. And it is exactly how it was when she was last there. It seems as if the war had never stopped. She ruined the world to save one person, was it worth it? Jenna feels intense guilt. 

"Jenna!" Josh runs to his best friend. 

"Josh, I have to tell you something." 

She explains everything. 

Josh sighs. "Jenna, he died for a reason. Everything happens for a reason. I get that he died too young, but it had to happen." 

"I can fix this Josh. I just have to find another way to prevent him from fighting that battle." 

"Jenna, no." 

Before Josh can say anything else, his best friend is gone.

This time, instead of the night before, she ends up in the morning of the battle. She sees him. And gives it one last try. She knows she'll succeed this time. 

Jenna's sister died too young. She was the same age as him. She died with her life ahead of her. It hurt Jenna knowing her sister would never live a full life. That's probably what pushes her to save him. 

But then she thinks about the future and what Josh said. Maybe Josh was right. No, he isn't. But what if he is? The general died for the country. He had to. It all happened for a reason. Even though he'd never get to live his life, he died knowing it was for something better. 

Maybe that's what's right. 

She watches from afar. She sees the battle happen. She sees the soldiers fighting bravely. She sees courage. 

And the most painful, but  _inevitable_ sight of the day, 

General del Pilar getting killed. 

Her mission is over. She can go home and it'll go back to normal. 

She snaps back to present time and it is what it used to be. A school. Everything is back to normal and Josh is standing where he was when she first left. 

It's a bittersweet feeling. She couldn't save him, but he died for something better. Jenna knows her sister would be proud. 

"So? How'd it go?" Josh asks. 

"I didn't do anything." 

Josh slightly tilts his head "What? Why?" 

"Everything happens for a reason." 

"Well, okay then." Josh shrugs. 

The next day in History class, two things swim around Jenna's head during review. 

Time travel and Gregorio del Pilar. 

I told you those two things would be connected. 


End file.
